‘Dark Matters:’ Shea Hembrey Explores the Essence of Things in New Exhibit

As a child, artist Shea Hembrey made art out of materials gathered from his backyard in rural Arkansas. In his first New York exhibition following the release of his 2011 work “Seek: The Inaugural Biennial,” he’s using these same objects—sticks, feathers, stones, and string—to make miniature models of the universe. “Part of the challenge of these models is to use the same humble materials I used as a child,” Mr. Hembrey said.

Entitled “Dark Matters,” the solo show opened Sept. 6 at the Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery in New York and runs through Oct. 20. The exhibit, which Mr. Hembrey describes as a meditation on “the unseen structures of the universe,” pulls from two decades of work by the artist. Along with sculptural representations of the cosmos and “dark energy,” the show features two series of paintings that explore similar themes.

In one series of trompe l’oeil paintings called “Unstill Lifes,” Mr. Hembrey said he has tried to reduce the universe to its basic elements, represented as “bits of matter, space and string.” In another series of paintings, entitled “When Eyes are Closed,” Mr. Hembrey said he has tried to capture the “shifting fuzziness” he sees behind his eyelids as “a metaphor for dark matter.”

Shea Hembrey

When Eyes are Closed, Dark Rain, Detail

Mr. Hembrey, who works out of his studio in Frenchtown, New Jersey, said these themes have “obsessed” him for years. “I just realized it was creeping into my work,” he said.

“There were so many choices,” said gallery owner Bryce Wolkowitz, who spent time sifting through work at Mr. Hembrey’s studio in preparation for the show. “We simply can’t show it all,” he said.

Mr. Hembrey gained recognition last year with his project “Seek: The Inaugural Biennial,” a book of photographs of the work of 100 artists—all of whom were invented by Mr. Hembrey, complete with background, personality, and elaborate artwork.

Like “Seek,” in which Mr. Hembrey wrote that the book’s mission was to parse through complicated “dialogue about art,” his current show is about simplifying complex concepts. “I’m interested in the essence of things. If you pare things down, what’s left?” he said.